Soft foods, not enough fat. Suggestions?

NuggetLovesEdie
NuggetLovesEdie Posts: 477 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

My jaw hates me right now. I have obnoxious TMJ pain whenever I eat anything as hard or harder than toast. I got part of a pluot stuck in my mouth the other day because I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to get the pit out.

When I use aggressive self care (regular dosing with ibuprofen, alternating hot and cold packs, gentle stretches) it gets better. But I made the mistake of eating a bagel the other day and have regressed a little in my healing. Grrrr!

So here's my quandry: I'm having trouble getting enough fat in my diet because I'm doing a lot of smoothies (home made with fruit/veggies) and protein-type drinks from powder with soy milk. Other than drinking olive oil, what else could I do to increase my *healthy* fat intake while needing to keep chewing to a minimum and still meet my overall calorie/carb/fat/protein goals?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Replies

  • stephaniec78
    stephaniec78 Posts: 76 Member
    You should add peanut butter or almond butter to your smoothies. My favorite is banana and almond butter.
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    coconut oil! It isn't cheap, but it is a healthy fat that tastes yummy in smoothies. Full fat cottage cheese and yogurt. Mashed potatoes with sour cream and butter.
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    Oh-and a note on the TMJ pain. You may want to consult of all people a chiropractor. My jaw locked up on me 2 days before my wedding of all times. I was in Hawaii and I looked up a chiro and he did these awesome(yet quite painful) massages inside my mouth that helped fix me up. Hope you feel better soon!
  • lachesissss
    lachesissss Posts: 1,298 Member
    scrambled eggs. cheese on bread. avocados (guacamole). butter - straight up, with a spoon.
  • NuggetLovesEdie
    NuggetLovesEdie Posts: 477 Member
    Nut butters and coconut oil. Great ideas! Thanks.

    Feeling skeptical about the full fat dairy products after years of skim. Hmm... Will check it out.

    I've been putting off seeing a health care pro because it seemed there was little to be done other than drugs or surgery aside from aggressive self care, but didn't think of chiro... will see if my insurance covers it. Thanks for the tip!

    Oh, lachesissssss... should have mentioned straight butter only gets eaten right before bed when I'm winter camping. :)

    More eggs FTW! Oh... avocados. I forgot about those too!
  • treehugger215
    treehugger215 Posts: 97 Member
    Adding a flax oil to your smoothies is always an option, and then it gets hidden in the yummyness of the smoothie!
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
    You've listed most of my favorites (avocado, peanut butter, eggs or vegetables cooked in butter) already. Soft cheeses are also nice. And the fatty fish are relatively soft. And how about soups with fat -- chicken soup?

    For the TMJ, see a dentist that specializes in it (if you haven't already). I recently found one (due to other dental issues) who specializes in aligning your teeth to fit the way your jaw/bite should work rather than just "straightening" your teeth and assuming your jaw could "adjust" to however your teeth are aligned. This is a relatively new change in philosophy, so many dentists still use the older techniques instead of measuring where your jaw is most naturally comfortable before deciding what to do about your teeth and the bite alignment they create.

    Good luck!
  • GreyEyes21
    GreyEyes21 Posts: 241 Member
    full fat dairy products are bad choices, because of the puss, and its a bad type of fat... try adding nuts to your smoothies.

    1/4c yogurt, 6-8 cashews, 12 frozen cherries, ice, 1/4c water, vanilla or egg white protein powder (optional) mmmmm. very cherry smoothie.

    you can add whole nuts to any smoothie makes it yummy without all the sugar from nut butters.
  • NuggetLovesEdie
    NuggetLovesEdie Posts: 477 Member
    Thanks for the food and dentist tips, everyone!
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
    avocado for sure. i had jaw surgery, so i feel for you <3

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